theYARD
The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, August 24, 2011
3
Former Essence editor speaks at Convocation Sylvia obell
Managing/News Editor
Former Editor-In-Chief of Essence Magazine, Susan L. Taylor, was the guest speaker at freshman convocation Aug. 16. This was Taylor’s third time speaking at N.C. A&T. Many consider Taylor’s name synonymous with Essence Magazine. During her 27 years there, Taylor served as fashion and beauty editor, editor-in-chief, and editorial director. Taylor describes Essence Magazine’s as a
publication that, “put the reigns of power in black women’s hands. M i s s A&T, Jasmine Gurley, presided over the event, introducing Taylor, along with others who spoke Taylor that evening. Before Taylor spoke she shared a video
Quake prompts review of nuclear plants in 6 states MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nuclear plants from North Carolina to Michigan are under increased scrutiny after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the East Coast. Twelve nuclear plants declared an “unusual event,” the lowest level of emergency, after Tuesday’s earthquake, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. Virginia’s North Anna Power Station, about 13 miles from the epicenter, issued an alert, the next highest emergency level. The quake was centered 40 miles northwest of Richmond. Two nuclear reactors at North Anna were automatically taken off line by safety systems. No damage was reported at the plant, which is being powered by emergency diesel generators. The quake was also felt at the Surry nuclear plant near Newport News, Va.
Besides Surry, the other plants declaring an unusual event were the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland; Peach Bottom, Three Mile Island, Susquehanna and Limerick plants in Pennsylvania; Salem, Hope Creek and Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Shearon Harris in North Carolina; and D.C. Cook and Palisades in Michigan. All were placed under increased scrutiny but continued to operate. Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, said U.S. nuclear plants responded as designed. The NRC requires that plant designs take into account earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. “U.S. nuclear energy facilities have been tested repeatedly by Mother Nature this summer, with tornadoes in the Southeast and record flooding in Nebraska. They have successfully met these challenges,” Kerekes said.
presentation for her CARES mentoring organization. The video included celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Oprah, Harry Belefonte, Taylor’s godson Sean “Diddy” Combs, and more, urging viewers to take the time out of their day to mentor a child. Taylor then went on to discuss a myriad of topics with the freshmen. These topics included: how to manage your life, the value of education, personal relationships, the history of who we are, and spirituality. Her speech
was full of quotes, examples, and stories. Here are just a few memorable snippets from her speech: “My brilliance is that I hired the smartest people I could find and treated them well,” “Challenge yourself every single day to be in competition with one person… you,” “Nobody is as fly as a black woman and we’re falling apart on the inside. Take some time out for yourself. Give yourself to you.” She also put the spotlight on
bob lewis
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, Va., shook much of Washington, D.C., and was felt as far north as Rhode Island, New York City and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., where President Barack Obama is vacationing. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated. There were no immediate reports of injuries. It was centered near Louisa, Va., which is northwest of Richmond and south of Washington. Obama and many of the nation’s leaders were out of town on August vacation when the quake struck at 1:51 p.m. EDT. The shaking was felt on the Martha’s Vineyard golf course as Obama was just starting a round. The East Coast gets earth-
At work t oday, I to ok charge of the team. Afterward, my boss a sked where tha t came fr om. My answe r was eas y.
NORTH C ARO LINA
Font: Gill San s Regular
Outline: .25 s ,EADERSHIP 4RAINING Size: 17pt Tracking: 25 s 5P to 1 4UITION !SSISTANCE Horizontal Sca le:
110% Ver tical Scale: 105%
NATIONALGUARD.com s '/ '5!2$ COM-05_3.72x5.indd 1
that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Taylor urges that the village is burning. That is why it is important for us to mentor as much youth as we can. “You represent what they don’t show on TV,” she told the crowd of college students. At the end of her speech, Taylor received a standing ovation. – smobell@ncat.edu and follow her on Twitter @YngBlkandFancy
5.9 quake shakes Virginia, Carolinas, D.C. quakes, but usually smaller ones and is less prepared than California or Alaska for shaking. At Reagan National Airport outside Washington, ceiling tiles fell during a few seconds of shaking. Authorities announced it was an earthquake and all flights were put on hold. At the Pentagon in northern Virginia, a low rumbling built and built to the point that the building was shaking. People ran into the corridors of the government’s biggest building and as the shaking continued there were shouts of “Evacuate! Evacuate!” In New York, the 26-story federal courthouse in lower Manhattan began swaying and hundreds of people were seen leaving the building. Court officers weren’t letting people back in. The quake came a day after an earthquake in Colorado toppled groceries off shelves and caused minor damage to homes in the southern part of the state and in northern New Mexico. No injuries were reported
Where were you when this happened? We were there. You could be too. Contributors meetings are every Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the General Classroom Building.
Take charge of your life in the te Font Sta National Guard. CallSta now! ndard
rap music for a moment. “It hurts what you all allow,” she began. She went on to complain about how rappers only show one side of black women in their videos yet we still endorse and scream for them. “We’re not standing up for anything. We don’t even stand for lyrics that make sense in rap,” she said. Taylor then gave the audience an assignment. To demand that a full spectrum of black beauty be shown in the media. There’s a common parable
3/23/11 10:43 AM
as aftershocks continued Tuesday. In Charleston, W.Va., hundreds of workers left the state Capitol building and employees at other downtown office buildings were asked to leave temporarily. “The whole building shook,” said Jennifer Bundy, a spokeswoman for the state Supreme Court. “You could feel two different shakes. Everybody just kind of came out on their own.” In Ohio, where office buildings swayed in Columbus and Cincinnati and the press box at the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field shook. At least one building near the Statehouse was evacuated in downtown Columbus. In downtown Baltimore, the quake sent office workers into the streets, where lamp posts swayed slightly as they called family and friends to check in. Social media site Twitter lit up with reports of the earthquake from people using the site up and down the U.S. eastern seaboard. “People pouring out of buildings and onto the side-
walks and Into Farragut Park in downtown DC...,” tweeted Republican strategist Kevin Madden. “did you feel earthquake in ny? It started in richmond va!” tweeted Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill tweeted that her staff in Washington was in an “emergency location. Hope everyone is ok.” John Gurlach, air traffic controller at the Morgantown Municipal Airport was in a 40-foot-tall tower when the earth trembled. “There were two of us looking at each other saying, ‘What’s that?’” he said, even as a commuter plane was landing. “It was noticeably shaking. It felt like a B-52 unloading.” Immediately, the phone rang from the nearest airport in Clarksburg, and a computer began spitting out green strips of paper — alerts from other airports in New York and Washington issuing ground stops “due to earthquake.”